Repurposing Our Sails with Sea Bags

Like all sailors, we love our sails – it’s the engine of our boat! We spend a lot of money on them, and we take care of them to the best of our ability to make them last as long as possible. But when they stretch out and no longer hold their shape, we can’t sail as fast as others, and they eventually have to be retired. Newer sails are faster sails. 

Due to our sponsorship with Sea Bags, we are able to afford new sails about once a year. We use the newest sails at our biggest championships such as the World, North American, or National Championships. When our newer sails start to wear, we transition them to use at our regional travel events. When they can no longer be used for those events, they’ll be used for our Wednesday night summer series local racing. After that is when we start thinking about donating them to Sea Bags. 

Sail Acquisition Manager Taylor and Sailing Team Captain Erica

We contact our regional Sea Bags Sail Acquisition Manager, Taylor, and set up a time to process the donation. Sometimes we will deliver them to a store, or Taylor will come straight to our house to collect them. Sea Bags will soon after turn them into bags – beautiful bags that will last a lifetime.

Erica and Joy

As a team, and part of our sponsorship responsibilities, we also gather sails from our competitors and other sailors. Sometimes we will return from a regatta with a J24 filled with donated sails. Our teammate, Joy Martin, is a sail collecting genius, and is not afraid to ask anyone for a sail donation. Because of Joy’s friendly nature, and ability to talk to just about anyone, she and her husband, John Baker, regularly collect many sails. One time they delivered 30 donated sails to the Sea Bags' warehouse in South Portland.

Our team is dedicated to the Sustainability mission at Sea Bags. So much so that a teammate from the Newport area saw someone throw a sail into a dumpster (a giant sail) and she climbed in to get it. Everyone on this team is grateful to be sponsored by a company that keeps sails out of the landfill. Sea Bag’s commitment to the environment matches our team and individual values and commitment to the health of our planet. 

The best way to support the Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team is to donate an old sail to us. You can contact any of our team members and we will arrange for Sea Bags to pick them up from you. The team is deeply grateful for all the support the sailing community gives our team by donating sails. Those donations are the engine driving this team forward while also contributing to a healthier planet we can all enjoy for generations to come.